


You're NOT Old!

by PropertyOfLinBeifong



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Age Difference, Crime Fighting, Eventual Sex, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Help, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Sorry, My First Fanfic, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:01:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PropertyOfLinBeifong/pseuds/PropertyOfLinBeifong
Summary: You are a young earthbending prodigy, or at least you were until an accident crushed your spirit. Deciding to move to a new city to start over, will a certain Chief be all you needed to recover? Lin Beifong × Femreader (Lin is 50, you are 20 so if age gaps aren't your thing don't read, also eventual smut.) Reader's physical traits will be as vague as possible except for scars and shorter stature.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Reader
Comments: 78
Kudos: 366





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Poof so uh I had previously posted this on fanfictions site, then I remembered oh wait you can't do "interactive" (or self insert) there! So I was like oh poo! Needless to say, now we are here.

It was a brisk, cool morning in Republic City. You stood in front of the police department's building for the first time. Despite the nervousness snaking its way up your body, you firmly raised your head to give yourself strength. "I'm ready for this interview." you said in a hushed yet confident tone. 

"I hope you are." someone grumbled to your right, startling you. It was a gruff voice, either they aren't a morning person, or they're mean. You turned to face the direction of the sound, and found yourself looking at a tall, older woman in police uniform. However, aside from that you didn't see much else as she seemingly ignored you to walk inside the building. You watched her hips sway as she walked away from you. _That was rude…_ you think to yourself _I'd say she's mean and not a morning person._

You let out a chuckle as you straightened the collar of your freshly ironed, button up shirt. Your choice of pants were a bit tighter than you would have preferred for your interview, but it would simply have to do, as not all of your moving boxes had finished being delivered. Upon remembering that after your interview you'd have to go back to your new, small - "humble" you liked to call it, to mask how terribly broke you were - apartment, to continue unpacking, you groaned. Shaking your head from these thoughts, you walked into the building back straight and determined, to pass your interview to place a job as an officer of Republic City. _Officer_ you mused to yourself, trying the title with your name _Officer Adaliz Zhang… I like that._

"Come in." was the brusque reply through the door, as your interviewer called you in. Apparently, you were the only one coming in for an interview today. You hadn't decided yet whether that reassured you, or made you more nervous as you stepped into the room. Your eyes widened in mild surprise as you realize the person interviewing you, is the same woman from earlier. She motions for you to sit, and quickly you rush to sit down, slightly flustered that you'd been standing there in shock probably looking like a fool. If she noticed, her hard gaze did not give it away. 

"I am-" you began to introduce yourself but she cut you off. 

"Let's see here, there's no need for too much talk, so let's get straight to the point. I've already seen your resume, I know who you are. I'm Chief Beifong, and the fact is, we need more officers. Your resume… Well it's not the best, but you'll make due." she said with a finality to her voice, that made you shift uncomfortably in your seat. _Wait, she's the chief?! Also, don't interviewers usually ask you questions and give you a chance to prove your worth? Spirits, she really is a mean, old woman, isn't she?_

Your thoughts were interrupted as the chief stood up and walked around the table to come closer to you. She motioned a command with her hand for you to stand up, and immediately you found yourself standing upright in front of the woman. Somehow you couldn't resist the imposing and demanding aura of the taller woman. She swiftly inspected you from top to bottom, then back up again. Her eyes narrowed, as she took it all in, and she made a gruff noise of approval, noticing you'd dressed formally for the occasion. While she continued her inspection, you couldn't help but stare at her face. _Spirits, she's mean but damn if she isn't beautiful!_ You thought to yourself as your eyes slowly roved over her silky grey locks, her fine eyebrows, deep green eyes and lush, pale lips. Your eyes continued down their path to pause on her interesting scars, which somehow made her more attractive. You inspected her strong jaw, long and smooth neck, connecting to broad and strong shoulders that the steel armor encasing her body failed to hide. 

"Do I pass your inspection too?" you heard the chief scoff. Your cheeks blazed in heat instantly. 

"Err… I meant no offense, Chief Beifong." you said quickly, in an attempt to save yourself. 

"Just Chief is fine." She said, then hesitating slightly she added, "How well exactly do you know how to bend?" 

You felt yourself stiffen at her question, you knew it would come up and had been prepared to answer, but it was still a touchy subject. "As I'm sure you read briefly about in my resume, I used to be a supposed prodigy earthbender and quickly learned how to metalbend. However…" 

"However…?" she echoed after you'd paused for a while. 

"However, ever since I suffered from my accident a two years ago, my bending has been significantly impaired, despite having physically recovered, so I'm fine and healthy once more." You finally managed to say. 

"Two years ago? How is it possible that it still affects you? May I ask what your accident was?" the Chief inquired. 

"I- I…" you struggled to find words but memories of what happened started crashing back into your mind causing you to panic. 

Interrupting your downward spiral, you felt a heavy hand squeeze your shoulder in a surprisingly gentle manner. You looked up to see the Chief's previously harsh face had softened around the edges as she silently comforted you. You smiled weakly and nodded as she told you that you didn't have to continue, and assured you that you'd find a way to bend again. 

After the brief exchange, she'd led you outside where another officer took charge of you. You watched the older woman's hips sway away for the second time as the officer led you in the opposite direction to show you around the office. 

The door of your apartment closed with a silent click as you rested your back against it. Leaning your head back until it touched the door behind you, you stared at the ceiling in silence. _I got the job… And I start tomorrow… And my boss is mean, but surprisingly nice I think._ You smiled remembering the oddly gentle moment. Jade eyes flashed through your mind and you wondered if her hair felt as silky as it looked. _She smelled nice too_ you thought as you closed your eyes _Like earth after it rains._

You spent the rest of your day unpacking boxes and attempting to make your apartment feel a bit more like home. On a table by your front door you set down your newly assigned uniform by a bowl containing your keys and a small picture frame. You ran your hands over the smooth, cool metal and felt a tinge of regret that you couldn't put it on with metal bending, and rather you'd have to do it manually, which was incredibly tedious and time consuming. The officer in your charge had offered to give you a regular uniform, but you'd refused and promised you'd be able to get a grasp of your metalbending soon enough. Your eyes strayed to the picture frame on the table, picking it up you gazed sadly upon the image of you and your younger brother. Your hand trembled as you began to remember the horrible day of the accident. You set the frame down flat on the table to avoid looking at the image, and walked to the bathroom where you finally peeled off your clothes from the day. You looked at yourself in the mirror with mild distaste, your mouth curling up with the disgust of seeing your own body. You had a toned, muscular body from a lifetime of training, however nothing could hide the horrid scars that enveloped your right arm like a thick rope, expanding from your wrist up to your shoulder, then going across your chest where they wrapped around your opposite shoulder. It was a huge and ugly mark, the mark of your failure to keep your brother safe. You finally looked away and stepped into the bath where your water was cold and frigid, but you didn't mind. In fact you liked the way it numbed you. 

The next morning you walked at a steady pace to work. Your armor felt awkward as many pieces were not tightened properly since you couldn't metalbend. In fact, upon arriving you asked an officer if they could tighten it for you before you reported for duty. They thankfully obliged without asking any probing questions. You found the officer in your charge, his name was Lao, or at least that's what he'd introduced himself as the day prior. He smiled when he saw you approach, and his smile grew wider at the sight of the uniform. 

"Looking sharp Zhang!" he said with a wolfish smile. 

"Thanks sir!" you said, not helping the smile that spread across your own face, "So what shall I be doing today?" 

"Ah… Well, you will be reporting with the Chief today. She said she would personally take charge of seeing over your training. In fact I believe she's in the training room right now."

"Oh" was all that you could muster as you gulped nervously _The Chief training me herself?_

"Don't sweat it kid, she's an excellent teacher, you're in good hands." Lao assured you, and with that, gave some brief directions to the training room in case you'd forgotten yesterday's tour. 

Before even entering the training room you could already feel the vibrations, and heard a low gruff voice in their exertions. You hesitated at the door, then stepped in to see the Chief had paused to look in your direction. You didn't take a moment to think about how she knew you were there, as you felt your mouth drop. _Holy shit._ You felt a blush plaster on your face as you gazed at her. 

Sweat dripped down her sharp jaw, her face and chest slightly red from exercise, hair tousled from her usual neat updo. Your eyes trailed down her neck that had hair sticking to it, to her pale chest which was exposed as she'd taken off her uniform to be in just a tank top and loose yet form fitting sweats. Your eyes lingered on her chest and curves which the sweat coated tank top stuck to. You were about to continue your trail down when an abrupt "Zhang." called you back to reality. Your eyes locked onto hers, which were narrowed in her suspicion at witnessing you all but eat her with your gaze.

"Are we going to train? Or are you going to keep up your habit of ogling me forever?" the Chief said sternly. 

"Apologies, Chief." you murmured as you set your gaze down to begin removing your armor. You felt the Chief's eyes burning into you, until she finally walked up to you and motioned for you to stop. Letting your arms drop to your sides, you choked down your gasp as she suddenly removed all your armor in one go. You didn't want to remove your arm and shoulder pieces and stifled your whimper as your tank top revealed your scars to the world. The chief froze in her spot, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at your arm in abject horror. 

"Spirits… What happened to you Zhang?" her voice was faint, as if she could hardly speak. She raised her hand, as if wanting to reach out to touch the scars, but she hesitated and brought her arm back to her side. 

"M-my accident…" your lip trembled slightly as you spoke. Then you breathed heavily as you did your best to calm down and then straightened with determination. "I don't wish to speak about it. With all due respect Chief, can we start training?" 

Her face hardened as she nodded briefly, however her eyes remained soft and concerned. The next two hours were spent in rigorous training, as you did your best to keep up despite your several failures to bend. The largest rocks you could lift were the size of pebbles and you could hardly throw them any harder than if you'd thrown it with your arm itself. However progress is progress, and you gritted your teeth with determination as you continued. At the end of the session you sat leaning against the wall, limbs frail. 

"You did a lot better than I expected, Zhang. We will continue with your training for the remainder of the week. If you progress smoothly enough, I'll allow you to begin taking cases." 

"Wait what? I'm only going to be training?" your voice came out with slight exasperation, as you'd expected to start today, not next week. 

"Yes, you will." was the firm reply. 

"Y-yes, Chief." 

"I expect you here tomorrow bright and early. For today, you are dismissed. I'm aware that you're new to the city, therefore I suggest you become familiar with the streets, go take a walk or something." with that, she picked up her uniform and walked off into the direction of the showers. 

You were hesitant to follow, but remembered that since you two were the only ones in the training room, logically you should be the only ones in the showers. As long as you stuck to the opposite side of the room you should be fine. Or at least that's what you told yourself as you followed a few steps behind the Chief, holding your uniform across your chest and hiding your arm behind it. Once in the shower rooms, the Chief began to take off her clothes very quickly, you turned away feeling your ears burn. Facing the opposite direction of the woman, you also began to undress, and until you heard her step into a shower, did you walk to the shower a few stalls down. Your imagination wandered as you tried to picture what she'd look like, and you scowled at your pervertedness, chastising yourself as you finished your shower. _She is your Chief, Adaliz. Get your head out of the gutter. Besides, you're hideous, she'd probably be more interested in someone with nice and smooth skin, soft to the touch. Probably soft like hers…_

You stepped out of the shower and couldn't help your sharp gasp as your eyes locked on to the very much naked Chief, who was patting herself dry while she looked into the distance, seemingly distracted. Before your eyes could begin a hungry trail all over her body, you almost painfully tore your eyes away to begin drying your own body. _What is wrong with me? It's the second day I see this woman and I can hardly take my eyes off of her. Spirits help me._

Your hands stuffed into your pockets, you roamed the streets of Republic City, marveling at its size and wide variety of people. You were actually glad she suggested you get familiar with the streets, as you had gotten lost at least twice already. Your arm hidden under a long sleeve shirt made you feel relaxed as you mindlessly walked, marveling at the sheer amount of buildings. It was already late in the afternoon, and you knew you likely hadn't seen even half of the city. Your stomach grumbled and you frowned, remembering that you hadn't eaten anything since the morning before you left. You decided to stop by a small restaurant, and sat down on one of the empty tables, accepting a menu from the waiter and ordering a glass of the first alcoholic beverage that caught your attention. You'd chosen the place because it served traditional earth kingdom food, and you could really use the familiarity. The waiter came back with your drink and you asked for more time to think about what to order, so they nodded and left. You cradled your drink in your hands, taking small yet steady sips, until you felt someone standing behind you. 

"Fancy meeting you here." an annoyingly too familiar voice said. In your freight you almost dropped your cup as the Chief, who apparently didn't need your approval to join you, sat on the chair across from you at the table. The waiter came back promptly and the older woman ordered something to drink. 

"What are you doing here?" you asked with a certain edge to your voice you hadn't expected. 

"The same reason you are here, I suspect, to eat traditional earth kingdom food." she said, her face expressionless as usual. Her eyes locked on to your beverage and she added, "I didn't take you as someone to drink." 

"I'm 20 years old, so I'm old enough to drink if that's what you're worried about." you said defensively, "In fact, I drink all the time!" 

"Yes, and I'm 50." she stated with a tone that made it clear she was amused by you defending your age.

You bit back an angry retort, reminding yourself that this woman is your boss. Graciously, the waiter came back with the Chief's beverage, and took both of your orders before leaving once more. You couldn't help but stare at the woman across from you again, tracing along her high cheekbones and thin nose. Entranced, you watched as she licked her pale lips, and swallowed a sip of her drink. She still had her uniform on, and presumably had finished her shift for the day. You lingered over the chest plate, almost mentally attempting to will the heavy metal to fall and expose what was hidden beneath. 

"So, how is the city so far? Enjoying it?" the Chief said, interrupting your thoughts. You immediately flicked your gaze back up to meet hers, she'd been looking at you. _Must I keep staring at her like she's a slab of meat?_

"It's bigger than I thought it'd be." you admitted, breaking eye contact because something about those jade orbs made you sweat. "But, it's alright. I'm still moving everything into my new place." 

"I'm glad to hear that." she said with a small, quick smile. _I wish she would smile more_ you thought as the waiter came back with your food. You both ate in silence, simply enjoying the company. When you finished eating, you and the Chief paid for your parts and stood up to leave. As you stood outside together, and you noticed it had gotten late, the light of the day was gone, yet the city's night lights allowed it to be still fairly bright. You nodded your head and said a brief departure, but before you could take a step away, the Chief stopped you. 

"Would you like me to escort you home?" 

"What? Err… No? I can take care of myself but thanks?" you said, slightly perplexed by the offer. 

"Well, you cannot bend as usual and the city can be dangerous at night, especially to newcomers." the older woman said, with a surprising tone of concern and appeared to be somewhat self conscious. _Is she nervous at the prospect of me going home alone?_ You mused as a smile crept onto your face. She noticed your smile, and raised an eyebrow. 

"What? Why are you smiling like that?" she scowled. 

"No, no. Just thought it was amusing to see how the Chief who the officers swear is so mean and callous is actually a big softie underneath that hard face." you said, your smile now full blown, even displaying teeth. This only caused the woman's frown to deepen, which in turn made you chuckle. 

"I'm not nice."

"Someone who isn't nice wouldn't be teaching me, nor offering to 'escort' me home." 

"I-I'm doing my job." she said, raising her chin in stubborn defensiveness. 

"Is joining me for lunch part of your job too?" you said, laughing at the knowledge that you were managing to get under her skin. _A bit of much needed payback if you ask me, for all the times she's mocked me for staring._

"Do you want me to take you home or not?" she said stiffly, while she faced away from you with her jaw clenched in obvious annoyance. 

"Hmm, sure Chief." you said, voice full of mirth, "Please take me home so I can feel oh so safe.~" Then, without giving her a moment to retort something, you spun around and began to walk in the direction of your apartment, forcing her to follow. To your satisfaction, you hear a small sigh as she does indeed follow behind you. Eventually she caught up to you and you see her jaw is still somewhat clenched as she dutifully walks beside you. You smirked, and decided to see how far you could push this woman for the sake of your revenge, and grabbed hold of her right arm, holding it hostage against the length of your body. You did your best to suppress your giggle as you felt her immediately become rigid and she looked at you questioningly. You simply shrugged as you held on tighter to avoid letting her pull away as you said, “You wouldn’t want me feeling unsafe, wouldn’t you officer?” You put extra emphasis on the word ‘officer’ to further mock her. 

“Zhang, this is highly inappropriate!” she protested, but she didn’t pull away, so you contently hummed, as your finger traced gibberish into the metal on her arm. As you walked, you began to slightly regret latching on to her arm. Feeling her arm press against you was oddly intimate and made you grow rather embarrassed. The feeling of her hip occasionally bumping against you didn't help as waves of embarrassment rushed over you with every touch. How long had it been since you were this close to anyone? You couldn't remember. 

"We've been walking for a while now, where did you live again?" the Chief grumbled as she stifled a yawn. Is she sleepy? The thought made you grin. _She's tired, yet here she is, walking me home for the sake of her 'duties'._

You repeated your address, and her small groan indicated that it was still likely a good distance away. Then she stopped walking and faced you. 

"Come on, grab on to me, I'm tired of walking." she commanded. 

"Err… Grab on?" you asked, rather confused. 

"Yes, if you don't I'll throw you over my shoulder instead." 

"Oh…" was the only reply you could muster as you wrapped your arms around her neck tightly. You didn't have the time to be embarrassed about this new proximity before suddenly, your feet were no longer touching the ground. You yelped and held on tighter, your legs instinctively wrapping around her waist to provide better grip and avoid tumbling to your demise. The air whipped violently as you were rushed through the air, your stomach lurched by the sudden movement, and you tightened your grip further, burying your face into the Chief's neck. Her deep chuckle vibrated throughout her whole body, making you shudder in both embarrassment and exhilaration. As she whisked you further into the city, you began to become more aware of her body pressed tightly against yours. You soaked in the feeling of her steady breath, her muscles flexing beneath the armor, the smell of her sweat and body, the sound of her occasional light grunt or pant of exertion. Without thinking about it, you tilted your head and pushed against her neck, your lips grazing the incredibly soft skin as you drew deep breaths, inhaling her scent. At the sensation of your lips and breath against her neck, the Chief stiffened and one of her grunts came out more strained. Other than that, she made no other response to your actions so you allowed yourself to indulge in the earthy smell. Eventually, she came to a rough stop, and you gasped as she wrapped a firm arm around your waist in order to keep you from being knocked off with the force of the landing. Finally she stood in front of your apartment, she was breathing heavily and hesitated before removing her arm from your waist. 

"Okay, you can get off now Zhang, we've arrived." she said a bit out of breath. When you didn't let go, she looked down at you inquisitively. 

"Zhang?" 

"I- I'm going. I t- think." you said, trembling from the adrenaline crash. You tried to let go but you were shaking so badly you could hardly move. 

"First time?" she said, as more of a statement then a question. She sighed, then brought up both of her hands to rest upon your upper thighs where she began to roam around. You let out a sharp gasp into her ear at the feeling of her strong hands moving along your body, causing her to let out another deep, vibrating chuckle. Soon, one of her hands brushed against her goal, and swiftly she pulled your keys out of your pocket. She released her hands from your body, leaving your skin burning from both her touch and embarrassment as she walked towards your apartment door. The Chief unlocked your door, and stepped inside. 

"W-why?" you managed to say. 

"I'm the Chief of police. I cannot afford to be seen with a child clinging to me in such an unbecoming manner." she said with a hint of amusement to her voice. 

"I- I am not a c- child!" you burst out angrily. Your hands and legs clenched against her body, the embarrassment and anger in your veins caused her armor to slightly dent against your pressing limbs. This caused her to immediately stop in alarm at the prospect that you could accidentally crush her. She grabbed hold of your legs and slowly rubbed her fingers in small circles, then gently peeled your legs from her body. You felt yourself melt under her touch, your eyelids shut as you focused on the feeling of her hands. Her strong grip kept your shaking body as still as possible as she finally set your legs back down onto the floor. Then she reached up to your shoulders and rubbed more small circles as she trailed back to your forearms behind her head, then grabbing you gently once more, she brought your arms away from her neck and slowly back down to your sides. Trembling, you stood in front of her and released a ragged breath you hadn't realized you were holding. Then, you staggered as your legs failed you, but just as quickly the Chief's strong arms wrapped around your back, keeping you from falling. She sighed, and led you to your bedroom, as your living room and kitchen had no chairs still, and she sighed again in relief because you did have a bed she could set you on. She sat you down and kneeled in front of you as she waited for you to still. 

"You're not a child… But I am old… Old enough to be your mother, even." she finally said, with a small, wry smile. You mirrored her smile weakly as you recognized that she was attempting to make a joke. 

"You're not old…" you murmured as you gazed intently into her green eyes. Eyes which were staring right back into yours with the same amount of intensity. 

"Don't lie to me." she said sadly, "I have enough knowledge in seismic sense to know when you are." 

"You're not old." you repeated. This time you leaned slightly towards her, and you set your feet onto the cool, stone floor. She became slightly rigid and her eyes flicked away from yours. The silence lingered in the room for what felt like an eternity, before the Chief finally stood from her kneeling position on the floor. 

"Well, I hope you have a restful night, I should be getting back to my home." Before she could leave, you were compelled to reach out and lightly hold on to her arm. 

"Thank you, Chief. For everything today." you said earnestly as you looked up into her eyes, then added softly, "And you're not old, you know I'm not lying when I say that." 

She didn't reply, she only looked down at where your hand held lightly on to her hand. _Her skin is so soft and warm_ you thought as your thumb brushed over her pale flesh. Then remembering she had to go, you stood up, letting go and motioned to your door. The two of you silently walked to the front door where you rested your hand on the knob and hesitated. _What am I feeling right now?_ You asked yourself, confused. Your body had recovered from the adrenaline rush, but you still felt oddly shakey from nervousness. There was also a strange amount of warmth to your body, coiling around your chest and stomach. You looked at the Chief, who strangely also appeared hesitant to leave. Both of you stood awkwardly by the door, not realizing how close you were standing. Close enough to just barely not touch, yet neither of you moved. Her eyes were searching into yours, her usual expressionless face displayed confusion instead. Then, as if she couldn't control herself, her arm reached up to your right arm, where she slowly slid her fingers around. You violently flinched as she felt your thick scars through the fabric of your shirt, and you paled, stepping away from her. Tears burned in your eyes and your lip quivered as you refused to look up at her.

"I- I'm sorry. Have a good night Zhang." the Chief said, her voice thick of various emotions you couldn't quite place as she stepped by you, and left you standing alone in your apartment. Silently closing the door, warm tears began to flow down your cheeks as you went back to your bed. Opting not to shower or change, you fell asleep crying. 

The next morning you resumed practice, and it continued for the remainder of the week. Neither you nor the Chief exchanged more than a couple of words each day. Your relationship shifted suddenly into a very strict, professional one. Upon finishing your first week of training, you'd gone from lifting pebbles to lifting rocks the size of your fists. It frustrated you slightly to not be able to bend as you once did, but you kept assuring yourself that something was better than nothing. The Chief also seemed content with your progress, and thus surprised you when she gave you a bit of news after the last training of the week.

"You've done well, all things considered." she started, "I'll allow you to start taking up a couple of 'low risk' cases." The news made you smile widely at the prospect of finally working, but she wasn't quite done speaking. 

"However, you will report to me before any case you take on, as I will be personally accompanying you to ensure your safety until you have a good grasp of your bending." 

"What? Are you my chaperone all of a sudden?" you scowled, your brows furrowed in frustration, "I can handle myself." 

"I'm glad you are confident in yourself, officer, but I'm afraid this is not up for discussion." she replied sternly. 

You sighed, and gave in to the terms. You scoured your brain for recent cases you'd heard the officers over talking about in the morning. Then, you remembered how one of the officers received a call from an old woman who said she'd heard strange noises outside her apartment the previous night. You relayed to the chief this information, who listened with interest.

"Surely a low risk case, right?" you asked hoping to at least do something that day other than train. 

"Very well, let's go check it out." the Chief finally said after giving it a thought. Back in the office, she asked around to see if any other officer had gone to check on the situation with the lady but nobody had gone. So together with the Chief, you set out to see if you could resolve the matter.

While walking, you fumbled with your metal armor, it wasn't sitting right. The Chief who was walking a few steps ahead of you seemed perfectly content in hers, the early afternoon sun reflecting off its surface. You tried to walk a bit faster to catch up, however you tripped because of the loose metal rings around your ankle. Your fall was slightly delayed as you felt the Chief quickly grab hold of your arm, then soon joined you in your tumble. You felt the air escape your lungs as your back hit the ground with a heavy thud, then almost immediately after a heavy weight crushed the length of your body. A gasp was heard by your ear, as clearly, the Chief had her breath knocked out as well. After a few seconds of recovery, the older woman finally pushed herself slowly off of you, her face scrunched up. Finally she sat up, unintentionally straddling your waist as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

"You should be glad this street is always deserted at these hours Zhang. This is the second time you make a fool of me in public." she grumbled, but sounded more tired than upset. Then she added, "Why do you even have a metal uniform anyways…" You looked up at her, sitting on your pelvis, her thick legs on either side of you. You found yourself nervously licking your lips and you clenched your fists to resist the temptation to reach up and touch her. Your eyes lingered in between her legs briefly, before you flicked your eyes away from her entirely, opting to look to the side. 

"Apologies, Chief. I know my uniform doesn't fit right without the ability to metalbend, I tripped on my leg piece. I just don't want to feel like a nonbender wearing the regular uniform." you admitted, voice quavering. She sighed above you, and you felt heat flare through your body as you imagined that briefly, that sigh could have been for a much different reason. She finally stood up, and you got up the best you could as soon as her weight left your body. Before resuming to walk, she tightened your armor for you, and ordered that the next time your uniform doesn't fit right, you are to speak up about it immediately. You nodded solemnly and then continued to the apartment the lady lived in, it was close now, just a few blocks away. 

The silence was almost eerie as you stood by the Chief in front of the place, before knocking, she dug her bare foot on to the ground. Then confirmed the place had one person inside, likely the old lady who had called. She knocked a few times on the door, however there was no reply. Confused, she tried the handle and the door opened easily. You stood on your toes to look over the Chief’s shoulder and gasped, the inside of the apartment was torn apart as if a bear had ran through hyper on drugs. 

"Be careful." she whispered, before stepping inside to look around. You followed behind her, closely inspecting everything around you on high alert. The floor was made of stone, but the furniture and the upstairs area was wood, meaning that it would've been easy to slip by the Chief's senses. The Chief pointed to the direction of where she'd felt the person in the building, then left to take a quick sweep of the upper floor to ensure the apartment was indeed, empty. You cautiously walked to a room in the back, and opening the door slowly, beheld an empty room. You looked down at the floor and came face to face with a tied and gagged old woman on the floor. She appeared to be in her 80's, wore a traditional fire nation gown, and was crying silently in fear. You gasped, and called out to the Chief, who's steps you heard resonating on the floor as she quickly rushed to join you. She entered the room as you'd knelt down, and attempted to break the woman free of her bonds that were made of a strange material, that clearly was fireproof as the bounds were singed - plausibly the result of the firebending woman in front of you - but the burns didn't seem to do anything. Before you could try to see what to cut them with, the Chief gasped, alarmed. She grabbed on to your arm, and dragged you to the room next over, looking desperately around. 

"Chief?" you whispered, scared by her sudden response and bothered by leaving the woman tied in the room next over. 

"Hush, there's people arriving, far too many to face alone." she whispered back fiercely as she locked eyes on to a large, wooden closet in the corner of the room, opening the doors she shoved you in, then before you could protest she climbed in after you, shutting the doors behind her. Just in time as well, because soon after you heard the heavy steps of a large group of people enter the apartment, from the sound of the feet and different gruff voices talking, it sounded like a group of roughly 8 men, but likely more. 

"Chief we should be defending the la-" your whisper was cut off as the Chief clasped a firm hand to your mouth, and shook her head. You tried to adjust yourself in your spot. You were sitting down, arms at your sides, with your back pressed against the end of the closet, and the Chief was kneeling in between your legs, your chests and shoulders pushed together from the awkward position. You could feel her steady breath on your ear, it made you quiver slightly. Her hand that was on your mouth released its hold, and unsure of where to put it, she settled on holding on to your waist lightly, her other hand resting above your upper thigh. Suddenly, you could no longer hear the other people in the house as your body numbed out the world, and instead became hypersensitive to the woman pressed tantalizingly against you. Her warm breath caused your hair to stand on end, and without meaning to, you let out a heavy, shuddering sigh against her neck. She became rigid above you, and turned her head in an attempt to look at you, but her lips ghosted against your jaw. You flinched and let out another soft sigh, your hand shooting up to weave your fingers into her silky hair. _Her hair is so soft_ you couldn't help but marvel. 

"C- Chief…" you sighed under your breath. Your skin felt like it was burning underneath your armor, even the air itself felt stifling with the heat. She leaned back to look at your face, eyes straining in the darkness to look at you. You felt yourself leaning towards her, following the heat of her shaky breath, your fingers tightening their grip in between silver locks. You stopped just before your lips connected, both of you breathing harshly. 

"S- stop. I'm old…" she breathed. Though she didn't truly move away or stop you, instead she seemed to slowly gravitate towards you. A bit too slow. 

"No you're not." you replied softly as you willed her face closer to yours by your grasp in her hair, finally closing the space as your lips collided. You couldn't help the sigh that escaped your mouth at the sensation of her lush lips pressed to yours. As if she was unable to hold back anymore, she pushed further into you deepening the kiss, as her hands greedily found your waist and pulled your bodies flush together as best as they could in your awkward position, and against the metal armor. Your other hand came up to lightly grab her jaw, as your fingers traced along her skin, causing the Chief to let out a muffled groan against your mouth. You felt her tongue swipe across your lip, demanding access you granted eagerly as your own tongue swept out to meet hers. The heat enveloping your body was almost unbearable as you aggressively fought for dominance with the Chief, tongues pushing and teeth clashing. One of her hands snaked up to latch on to your throat, lightly squeezing the sides as she choked you, causing a moan to escape your mouth into hers. This distraction was all she needed to win and dominate the feverish kiss. You pulled away, panting in an attempt to catch your breath, but the Chief just used it as an opportunity to latch on to your neck, she removed her hand to give her space as she licked, kissed and nipped her way from below your chin, all the way back to underneath your ear. Your head lolled to the side, giving her more access as your fingers in her hair pulled it lightly, which seemed to motivate her further. 

Your hot and heavy session in the closet was interrupted by the loud slam outside. Both of you froze, and she reluctantly drew away from you to open the closet door and step outside. You bit back a groan of protest, and followed her out as she peered around. The apartment was empty, the lady from the room next over was gone as well. 

"Shit!" the Chief seethed, "I should have been listening to what those idiots were saying!" 

"I'm sorry, it's my fault…" you said, hanging your head as you felt your earlier lust become a heavy pit of shame in your stomach. Your self chastising thoughts were interrupted as the Chief stepped over to you, and lifting your head by your chin, she harshly kissed you again. Just as sudden as the kiss started, she pulled away, bringing back your burning sensation. 

"The fault is on both of us. Now, if we wish to not make this a complete failure, start looking around for clues, I'll go see if I can find out in which direction they headed, they haven't been gone for too long."

You nodded and immediately set to work as the chief left the apartment. About 15 minutes later she came back, and said she did in fact manage to catch up and follow them west for a while, however they must have felt her following them, and soon they eluded her. She then showed you a colored headband she found, it was various colors of green and had small pieces of decorative stone. 

"An earthbender" you said, stating the obvious, then added, "Good thing you chose a wooden closet for us to hide in." Mentioning the closet made the events that occurred inside flash through your mind, your face flushing slightly. You looked up at the Chief to see her normally pale skin was also lightly pink as she looked away from you. _She's surprisingly cute when she's embarrassed._

Together the two of you finished looking around the rest of the apartment and the only other thing you found was a discarded piece of red fabric, likely from the lady's fire nation gown. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! So many people read this and apparently liked it! I'm so glad!  
> Honestly I started this just to fulfill a personal itch or craving of sorts.

After the proceedings at the old lady's apartment, you and the Chief had gone back to the station to start working on the case. As if you both shared the sentiment of focusing on work, neither of you brought up the incident from the closet - yet. In fact, neither of you had spoken much about anything as you were rather busy with trying to not screw up your first case any further than you already had. A few days had passed and you were able to locate three suspects, however none of them were talking. After some research it also became clear that the old lady - you later found out she was 72, not 80 something like you'd originally thought - was named Cai Won, and was the last of four members of the Won family, who were apparently filthy rich. To you it seemed like it was rather obvious at that point, that someone was out to get a hold of that fortune. Which led to the apprehension of the three previously noted suspects for questioning and surveillance. It was a young girl, of the age of 12 named Fumi, who was Cai Won's granddaughter. Lee, a 40 year old man, Fumi's father and Cai's son. Lastly, it was Lee's brother Gohan, who was age 38. Aside from two brothers who wouldn't talk, and a child who was clueless, your best clue was learning that the apartment was in fact not Cai Won's main home, but rather, the Won estate back in the fire nation. Meaning it'd be worthwhile to contact fire nation intelligence to see if they could help track the people responsible and hopefully Cai Won. 

At your desk you sighed as you droned over the painfully low amount of information you had. Since a few days had gone by, you were very worried about the state of Cai Win and knew you had to work faster. You also had a lump in your stomach at the idea of just how much money these people had, meanwhile you could hardly afford to eat every day. You sorely hoped that when you'd get your paycheck later that month, things would look up. You rested your head on the palm of your hand while you zoned out looking at your paperwork, but not really reading it. Suddenly, something hit you on the back of your head, causing your head to slip from your hand and slam onto your desk. 

"Don't slouch." a harsh voice said and you bit back a groan because you already knew who it was. You looked up at the Chief while rubbing your forehead.  _ That hurt, what's wrong with her?  _ The Chief didn't allow you to say anything about her rude action as she continued speaking, "What have you found?" 

You paled, and relayed what little bits of information you'd gathered and thankfully she appeared to be listening. Perhaps, with too much interest for her green eyes felt like they were burning holes straight into your soul. When you finished speaking you swallowed thickly and looked away in regret at not having more information for the case. 

"Look at me when you're speaking to your Chief." she commanded, and you felt yourself immediately look back up into her jade eyes, compelled by the sense of authority that rolled off of the Chief in waves. She held your gaze intently until you finally murmured an apology, then nodded, as if this was all she needed. She folded her arms across her chest, and lifting her chin a bit said you were dismissed for the day, still using her commanding voice. 

"Really? It's barely late noon." you said confused she was sending you home so soon, when usually you'd end up staying until late at night like she and many others did. 

"Yes, go home and rest. Or…" her words faded away, and you thought you saw her ears turn slightly red, but she turned to face away from you. You looked at her back suspiciously. She cleared her throat then tried again, "Or, you could come with me to eat dinner, and we can… talk." 

_ Uh oh  _ you thought as you furrowed your eyebrows  _ The way she said talk didn't sound good…  _

"Sure, Chief. Right now or would you like to meet up later?" you found yourself asking.  _ Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I say that! It's so obviously a trap! She's probably going to be mean or cruel about how I found virtually nothing about the case and how that lady is probably in big trouble.  _ However, despite the danger there had been in the Chief's voice when she said 'talk', you couldn't help your curiosity. 

"In three hours you will come to my home for dinner." she said tersely, then related her address to you. You internally screamed, unsure of how to fathom what she had just said despite her very clear use of words.  _ Dinner at her HOUSE?! Oh Spirits what have I gotten myself into?  _

Back at your apartment you paced around in your - still lacking furniture - living room. You had roughly two hours to get ready but you couldn't stop your pacing. You felt jittery and your heart was beating furiously in your chest.  _ What do I wear? Should I bring something? How long will I stay there? She's inviting me to dinner at a late hour, just the two of us, in her home.  _

You took deep breaths, holding on to your head. Somehow, calming down the many thoughts going through your mind, you were able to walk to the bathroom to shower and change into something of semi-formal standards. A plain, light green button up shirt (long sleeve as always), with some fitted, dark green pants, and black shoes. You snickered at the amount of green clothes in your closet, you were an earthbender after all. You pulled your hair up into a loose bun to have it out of your face, and put on a light shade of lip tint after several minutes of contemplation. Finally feeling ready, you decided to leave, as you had a little over an hour left and decided it'd be a good idea to start walking in case you got lost on the way to her house. 

You were glad you gave yourself the time to look for her home as you did indeed, get lost several times. You finally came to a nice apartment, hers was on the second floor and after briefly inspecting the building it appeared to have one apartment per floor.  _ She is the Chief of police, I suppose it's expected she'd be well off. Also she's Toph Beifong's daughter, if anything she has enough money to live somewhere even more high class.  _ Shaking your head, as if that would clear your mind somehow, you finally mustered the courage to knock. You bit your lip as you waited, your fingers playing with one of the buttons on your shirt. Much faster than you expected, there stood the Chief, and spirits did she look good in something other than her uniform. Your eyes quickly went over her body, hungrily burning her image into your mind. First you inspected the small amount of pale legs revealed by her long, pencil shirt that was a beautiful shade of dark green, almost black. It reached down to about a hand beneath her knees and was form fitting to show off her amazing body, but loose enough to be appropriate for someone her age - not that you really thought her age mattered. She was barefoot, and her toenails were a soft green color and filed neatly, which you thought was surprisingly feminine for someone like the Chief. She wore a white, silk blouse with thin straps that left her gorgeous, broad shoulders out in the open. Her strong arms bare except for a silver bracelet that wrapped around her left wrist. Your gaze lingered at her chest, her shirt has a low cut and you could just barely begin to see where the delectable flesh was trying to break free from its bindings. You didn't realize you were standing there with a stupid smile until you heard the Chief clear her throat. You blushed and cursed yourself as you stepped in so she could finally close the door. You could have sworn you'd heard her chuckle, but that didn't matter the moment you saw the dinner she'd prepared. It was multiple traditional earth kingdom platters as well as what smelled like fresh, mint tea, and you felt your mouth water.  _ She made all of this? I never took the Chief for a cook.  _

"I figured you'd enjoy something familiar, so I made some of the most popular plates… and a few I saw you'd ordered that time we ate at the restaurant. I err, assumed you prefer those and made them in case you didn't like anything else I made." she said, as if answering your mental question. She got flustered at admitting that she'd remembered what you had eaten, which you thought was very cute. 

"Thank you, this all looks absolutely delightful, Chief." you said with a genuine smile, warmth radiating off of you in your happiness at her gesture. She looked taken aback for a second, her gaze falling to the floor. She looked almost nervous. 

"You're welcome… and you can call me Lin. You don't have to be so formal with me out of work." her voice sounded so quiet and anxious, like she wasn't sure how you'd respond. Which to be fair, you had no idea how to respond so you just found yourself nodding blankly. She fidgeted slightly before asking,"Can I call you by your name too, Adaliz?" You blinked a few times, never had you expected to see the Chief, err Lin, acting so nervous and shy. Although secretly, your heart leaped at the fact that not only had she remembered what you'd eaten, she also remembered your given name. 

"Sure Lin, you can call me Adaliz, or my shorter nickname Liz is fine as well." you said gently, trying to ease her nerves. 

"Liz?" she chuckled, "Imagine how confusing it must be for a third person to try to talk to us and have to go constantly back and forth between 'Lin' and 'Liz'." 

You smiled, "Well it was just a suggestion, you don't have to." 

"No, I think I like it. Now let's eat before it gets cold, Liz." 

You took a moment to appreciate how much you enjoyed hearing Lin say your name. Especially because she wasn't saying it with ill intent. Happy to oblige at her suggestion, you both sat down to eat, talking about work for a while. Eventually, you decided to instead direct the conversation to talking about the last couple of days and how your day to day activities had gone. You learned that whenever Lin wasn't at work or training, she spent the majority of her time reading, meditating, and seemingly had a mild obsession with tea and soaps. Somehow, you thought her interests were fitting for her age and with her habit of overworking, she likely needed relaxing activities to surround herself with. Mentally, you laughed as you thought of another particular activity that could prove to be a remarkable stress reliever, but you decided to not mention it. You told her about how a lot of your furniture still hadn't arrived, and she laughed at the thought that your house was still empty despite having been in the city for almost two weeks, which made you scowl to see her mocking your misfortune, but your face only made her laugh more. Unable to resist smiling at the wonderful sound of her laugh, you ended up laughing with her a bit. Neither of you wanted to talk about your pasts, and so instead you talked about future aspirations. You wanted to make a decent living in the city, and chose your job at the station to simply make fast money, however you wanted to quit sometime in the future to dedicate yourself to teaching. Lin expressed her interest in the subject, as clearly she'd expected that you'd stay in the force for a long time.

"Do you expect me to be a policewoman until I retire of old age?" you giggled. 

"Well, that's what I'm doing." Lin replied with a small frown. 

"Yeah but you were built to be a cop. Besides, I've always been good with kids, and I used to be a teacher." you said with a shrug.

"Wait, you used to be a teacher? What did you teach?" she sounded fairly intrigued, so you felt yourself be more willing to open about your past. 

"I was a language teacher, I taught kids how to read and write. Then I'd help the earthbending teacher as an apprentice." 

"Wow, that must have taken a lot of patience. I'm not very good with kids… but I think it's rather obvious, since I am neither married, nor a mother." 

"Actually, I think you would have made a great mother." you admitted with a shrug. Based on what you'd learned about Lin since having met her, she was harsh and demanding, but had a soft side to her and was caring. So you really did believe she would have been a good mom. However, her face of uncertainty and discomfort showed she disagreed completely. 

"I would have been a lousy mother, the same way I would have been a lousy spouse. All I ever really needed was work anyways." Lin said with a tone that made her sentences feel like they had been rehearsed many times before. You frowned, but didn't push the subject further. 

"So, since you're 50, when  _ will  _ you retire? When you're too frail to do anything at 70 or 80? 'Chief Lin Beifong, the Eternal' would be your new title.~" you said trying to crack a joke. 

"Well, originally my ultimate goal was to die around my mid to late 50's during some high stakes case and be remembered as a hero or something." she said with what you found to be, a concerning amount of honesty. 

"You'd rather die on the job than, I don't know… Settle down somewhere and just live in peace?" you were confused by how she could want to die so readily just to avoid growing older. You thought for a second, then grew more confused, "Wait, if your dream is to die and be remembered as a hero. Why didn't you face the group of people in Won's apartment? You said it was too many, but surely, the amazing Lin Beifong could have faced that many people and probably have gotten away with it. Even if you hadn't, it would've been a chance at the heroic deed you were looking for, you would have saved that lady's life as well as my own."

Lin looked away for, her face falling in what appeared to be a mixture of shame and embarrassment. When she didn't answer you grew more confused. 

"Well?" you asked, a bit more impatient than you meant. 

"I…" Lin's voice faltered, but then she looked at you, as if determined to explain herself, "I know that. I've fought against worse odds yet, I couldn't bear the idea of endangering you. I couldn't think about anything other than keeping you safe, and I can't keep you safe if I'm dead." 

You leaned back in your chair, eyeing her closely. "Does this have to do with my bending?" you finally said, your voice like ice. You hated the idea that she was treating you like a weakling, but now that you thought about it, it was obvious she felt that way considering everything she'd done up to now. Personally training you, and accompanying you to anywhere she could get away with. 

"Err… Not entirely, but yes, in part it does." she finally admitted, her eyes were full of concern, and her brow furrowed. You decided that was enough, as you stood and bowed, then made for the door. 

"Wait! Don't do this to me!" was her panicked reply and she rushed to stop you, her hand wrapped tightly around your wrist. You turned around to face her, seething. 

"I am not a child! I get it! I can't earthbend or metalbend the way I used to, but I'm not a helpless fool!" you were beyond angry and hurt. Tears burned at your eyes and you choked back a silent sob. Seeing your eyes glimmer wet with tears, she stepped closer to you, her arm reaching up to cup your cheek. Instinctively you found yourself leaning into the touch, tears streaming down your cheeks. 

"I don't think you are helpless, and much less a fool." she said tenderly, "I genuinely worry about you. This scar and whatever your accident was, you clearly haven't moved on, and that's the only thing keeping you back from bending. I know you don't want to talk about it, and I won't force you to… but you need to let yourself heal and move on, Liz." Her thumb on your cheek rubbed a tear away as she pulled you closer to rest her head on top of yours. Her other arm coming up to wrap around you and pull you into a surprisingly gentle and warm hug. Not being able to hold back further you erupted into sobs, your arms coming up to desperately grasp the woman against you, meanwhile you cried into her shoulder. 

You weren't sure how long you stood there, holding Lin while you cried. Eventually your sobs became silent hics, you couldn't cry anymore so instead you both stood there silently. Lin's hand had been massaging the back of your neck soothingly, while her other arm was wrapped around your waist and held you firmly against her. You sighed, beyond relieved of releasing your pent up emotion, even if you didn't feel ready to talk. Lin surprised you with her gentle hum as she acknowledged you'd stopped crying. She leaned back a bit to look at your face, and her eyebrows furrowed as she took her hand from behind your neck to wipe the moisture from your cheeks. 

"Why don't you get cleaned up, hm?" she said softly, then motioned towards the bathroom. "I'll clean up the table meanwhile." Unable to talk, you nodded and hesitantly peeled away from her to go to the bathroom. You washed your face thoroughly and when you looked up into the mirror, you winced. Your face was red, and so puffy it was a surprise you could still open your eyes properly. You released your hair from its bun, the tendrils falling all around your face. Earlier that day you had wanted it out of your face, but now you wanted nothing more than to hide behind it. Feeling better, you exited the bathroom to find Lin washing the last few dishes. You leaned back on the counter and waited for her to finish, then noticed she'd left you a cup of water which you graciously drank. When she looked at you, you smiled weakly and set down the cup. 

"Thank you." you said, then winced again because your voice felt like sandpaper from crying so much, "I should probably go now, it's late and we work tomorrow." 

She came up to you, stopping once she was so close you could feel her breath on your face as she looked deeply into your eyes. You found yourself paralyzed by something in that jade gaze, and she leaned down to kiss you. It was a soft kiss, gentle and full of care. She pulled away to tuck your hair behind your ear then finally spoke. 

"You don't have to thank me for anything. However, I do think you've had a bad influence on me ever since that kiss in the closet." She smiled, and moved to pull away completely. You didn't let her get far as your hands shot up to wrap around her waist and pull her back flush against you. She let out a soft gasp of surprise. 

"Why a bad influence?" you inquired. 

"Well… You told me I wasn't old and I don't know, I felt like I had some sort of chance of feeling wanted." she said, and looked away. You brought a hand up to cup her cheek and turn her back towards you. 

"Lin, you're absolutely beautiful, who wouldn't want you?" you said, with a hearty laugh, "Plus, with a feisty personality like yours, and the secret side of you that's actually a huge softy… I think you could have anyone head over heels for you." 

"Don't say that, you're going to give an old hag like me hope." she said with a deep frown.

"But I am being honest!" you replied, "Hell, I myself would love the chance to be yours… But…" your voice died. 

"See? You can't even bring yourself to lie anymore." she tried to pull away, her face contorted in regret, but you pulled her back and kissed her hard. 

"Shut up" you retorted, a bit angry she interrupted you, "I was going to say, that the only thing keeping me back is that I don't feel quite ready yet for a relationship. I'm broke so I'd never be able to spend money on you. I will have to spend a lot of time at work to make money. Plus, I have a hefty amount of emotion baggage, remember?"

Suddenly, it was you frowning as Lin let out a laugh. Normally, you'd take a moment to appreciate the sweet sound of her laugh, but now you just felt perplexed by her reaction. 

"Spirits Liz, if only you knew. Sure I don't struggle with money, but I'm not the kind to pamper so you'd rarely see my money. I literally said I wanted to die while working, so I won't have all the time in the world ever.  _ And  _ I have plenty of emotional baggage as well. So I'd say we are pretty even."

You opened your mouth as if to say something, but your voice failed you. You'd expected her to agree that a relationship between the two of you wouldn't work, yet instead she was saying it was completely fine. She laid a soft kiss on your forehead and then leaned in to give you a tight hug. 

"Look, you don't have to start dating me on the spot, just give it some time, hm?" she said, "Besides, I'm already convinced an old piece of garbage like me has no chance in the dating world anymore, so trust me, you could come around two years from now and I'd probably still be waiting." 

You pushed her back to look at her with concern. "What makes you think I'd be so cruel as to make you wait two years? You're not old, and as I said before, you'd be quite the catch for anyone." 

She shrugged and smiled softly, but didn't reply as she just leaned back in to hug you again. You sighed and leaned your head against hers. If you ever did start dating her, the first thing you'd do is boost her ego, because she sorely needed it.

After several minutes of holding each other in comfortable silence, you did end up parting for the night. Back in your empty apartment, you replayed the events in your mind numerous times. It felt like you were dreaming. Not only was Lin Beifong into you, she was willing to date you. At best, you hoped for like a one night stand and then for it to burn off there, because it was undeniable you were attracted to each other. So having a chance at more sent your brain into an overdrive of different emotions.  _ Is this really okay?  _ You hummed to yourself as you got ready for bed.  _ How would I even act towards her during work? This is so surreal.  _ You decided not to nitpick the details running through your head, as you laid down and prepared to sleep. 

"M-more." you said in between strained gasps and sighs. 

"More? So greedy.~" was the reply as you felt a third digit enter your core, and you arched your back. One of your hands clung desperately to the headboard behind your head, while the other was tightly tangled into silver locks. Her pale hand worked at a fast and steady pace, meanwhile her tongue worked against the sweetest spot of all, sending shocks of pleasure throughout your body. You groaned as you pushed her head in further, your legs twitching with the soon to arrive climax. She tried to pull her head away a bit, presumably to breathe, but you groaned in frustration and closed your legs around her in a desperate attempt to keep her there where you needed her the most. Her hand never ceased in its motions and finally, thankfully, her mouth reconnected with your clit, biting and sucking until you spasmed. You were so close. 

Apparently not close enough though, as you woke up with a start at the sound of someone knocking on your front door. You let out a frustrated groan, and incoherently yelled that you'd be at the door soon. You rolled out of bed, and cringed because your underwear was ruined with your dreaming. Quickly changing and putting on some pants, you rushed to the door. To your surprise, it was a man dressed in what appeared to be a simple, white uniform. He held up a package in his hands, and you took it confused. On the package you saw a note, but before you could read it the man bowed, and left. 

"Enjoy your meal ma'am." he said respectfully before leaving. 

"What the fuck?" you said out loud as you closed the door, and went to your kitchen where you set down the package. Curious beyond measure, you picked up the note and read it. 

"To make up for the fact that you didn't get to finish your meal last night because of me. This isn't earth kingdom food, but I think you'll like it." by, Lin. "P.S. Don't get too comfortable, this is the first and last time I order you food like this."

You couldn't help the goofy smile that spread over your lips, she  _ was  _ a big softie and nothing could ever convince you otherwise anymore. You tucked the note somewhere safe after taking a brief moment to appreciate Lin's very nice handwriting. Then opening up the package, you had a remarkable breakfast despite your loins still protesting from their lack of attention after so much stimulation from your dream. You sighed with contentment as you finished eating, and considered relieving yourself of your frustration, but knew there wasn't any time so you rushed to get ready for work. You put on your uniform as best as you could, and stepped out of the apartment to walk to work.  _ I'll get over it soon.  _

Only, of course, you didn't get over it soon because it's hard to get over it soon when the source of your problem was your boss. Practice was the worst because everytime you locked eyes with Lin, you'd feel a warm shudder run through your stomach. The exertions of exercise somewhat helped take your mind off of it, but it wasn't enough with a hot and sweaty Lin around. You focused as much as you could in practice, heaving stone after stone. Pushing yourself to the limits as you even managed to pick up a stone as large as a tire. Sooner than you wanted, she declared you had practiced enough for the day, and began to walk in the direction of the showers. You bit back a groan, this wasn't going to end well, wasn't it?  _ I'm probably going to make a fool of myself and drool or something. _

You followed slowly, trying to take as long as possible, and when you finally entered, Lin had already finished undressing and was walking towards a shower. For the first time, you couldn't help but stare greedily as she walked away. Your eyes roamed over endless amounts of pale skin, full of tiny scars, and it looked so soft you craved nothing more but to sink your teeth into her. She had a strong muscular body, but just the perfect amount of delicious curves that made your mouth unconsciously water. When she finally stepped away, and out of sight, you let out a silent sigh and began to undress. You winced as you noticed your underwear was once again, ruined and set it down along the rest of your clothes. You entered a shower and your dream kept flashing through your brain. You tried your best to wash yourself, and scrubbed furiously at your legs as if somehow it would get you to stop thinking about fucking the life out of the woman a few stalls down. Unable to hold back, your hand ghosted by your wet folds, and that action alone was enough to make your eyes flutter shut. You rubbed slowly but forcefully and couldn't help but release a ragged groan. At the sound of your own voice, you jumped up in surprise.  _ What am I doing?! She probably heard that!  _ In a panic, you quickly finished showering and stepped back out to change. You gasped in alarm as you saw Lin sitting down on the bench in the middle of the shower room, she was looking at you intently. She was naked but you couldn't take the moment to appreciate her beautiful chest and stomach, as your eyes locked on to your underwear in her hands. She smiled, knowing. 

"Were you going to tell me about it?" she chided, setting down your underwear, and stood up to walk towards you. You felt yourself burn in embarrassment , and walked backwards and away from her. You kept moving until your back hit the wall, and you gulped nervously as she pressed herself fully against you. You sucked in your breath at the glorious feeling of her naked body pressed against yours, but you were still incredibly nervous. 

"I'm waiting." 

"Oh! Err…" you said dumbly, "No?" 

"That's the wrong answer." she cooed, and then you let out a sharp gasp as her hands grabbed firmly onto your waist and she leaned down to bite you on the shoulder. You let out a deep moan of mixed pain and pleasure, and shuddered when her tongue traced along the marks. She smirked and straightened herself to look at you directly in the eye again. "Care to try again?" she said, her voice dark and full of promise.  _ Spirits help me…  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! I'm a horrible person to my readers because I left this off on a cliffhanger. I would have continued, but then it would have been too long and I'd rather starve than spoil.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhhh I am a mess and uhhhh quarantine is killing me. Sorryyyy babies I hope this update is enough to feed you all T^T
> 
> I might edit this chapter later bc I feel like it's a hot mess ngl  
> Or at the very least split it into two chapters because it is rather long... Oooops

You felt yourself stiffen in anticipation of what was going to happen. A drop of sweat ran down your back, or possibly it was because you were still wet from the shower. You didn't know, nothing made sense with a very naked and very warm Lin Beifong pressed against you. It had stung when she bit you but somehow that didn't matter. 

"Speak, Adaliz." she commanded, bringing you back into reality. 

"Ah… Right uhh…" you tried to start over but your words fail you. You weren't a virgin, but with such a dominating woman, you felt small and prude. As if just by existing, your few years of sexual experience vanished into thin air. You gulped and tried once more, "I didn't think my dream would be such a problem." 

Her eyes widened briefly in surprise, but she quickly let it fade and instead she smirked at your admission, clearly delighted to know you'd been dreaming about her. 

"Oh really?" her words dripped with honey, "I'd love to know all about it." 

Her hands began to rub up and down your sides, bringing shudders out of you, meanwhile her eyes stared intently into yours, willing you to tell her your dream. 

"You were… Going down on me… And…" you struggled to speak as your brain went blank every time she grazed her fingers by a sensitive point on your skin. 

"And?" 

"You were fingering me… I- I asked for more… And you called me… G-greedy." you managed between gasps as her hands went lower on your abdomen, tracing your lean body with her fingers. Her gaze darkened with your words and you bit your lip, she looked like she was about to eat you alive. Sure enough, after a few short seconds of heated staring, she pressed her mouth into yours forcefully, the searing kiss sending flares of heat through your body. You were breathless against her, but your rapture was cut short as you felt one of her arms graze your shoulder. She was tracing your scars. 

You pushed her away instantly, your face contorted in a mixture of various emotions. A twisted sense of conflict rose within you at the loss of her sweet skin rubbing against yours. She became concerned, her eyebrows furrowed and she came back to cup your cheek gently. You let her, but didn't move a muscle. 

"Liz… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" she said hesitantly, "I know you don't like it, I overstepped that boundary. I just wish you could see yourself the way I do. You're beautiful." 

You flinched, "No I'm not."

She sighed, clearly not willing to push it further and instead opted to press a light kiss to your cheek. Then she let go, walked back to her clothes and began to change. You watched her, the remaining warmth going throughout your body became a cold pit of an emotion you still couldn't well place in your stomach. Disappointment was the best word you could come up with, however you weren't sure if it was in yourself, or her. Huffing a sharp breath, you joined her to change as well. 

The two of you continued your day as normal. Well, almost as normal. You thought to yourself as you lounged at your desk and watched Lin yell more aggressively than usual at your coworkers. It was always so odd to see how her tone changed. You felt a bit guilty to know she had a very soft side, that was seemingly reserved for only you. She let out an especially brusque bark at someone for who knows what reason. You had to cover your mouth with a hand to hide your smile. As much as you were somewhat torn about missing a golden opportunity to have sex with Lin because of your own insecurities, she had this remarkable way of making you feel better. Which was strange, considering what was making you smile was watching her yell orders and now even throw small pebbles at her officers to shoo them back to work. At this, you couldn't help but chuckle, causing Lin to whip her head around to look at you. 

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

"S-sorry! Li- Err Chief! Chief Beifong!" you squeaked. 

Her eyes narrowed as she inspected you, but you noticed the end of her lip was twitching as she resisted a smile. _See? What a bit softy._ You thought dreamily. 

When you arrived at your home later that day, you felt exhausted from nothing in particular. You peeled your armor off awkwardly and decided to spend a long while analyzing your information about the case. You didn't like how the window was closing to find Cai Won. Fumi Won had been relocated to an orphanage for the time being meanwhile her father Lee, and his brother Gohan still remained in custody. From the regular interviews held for the suspects, Gohan had a slip up on his alias. Whereas before he'd claimed to be out of town the day Cai Won disappeared, he had accidentally admitted to having returned to Republic city briefly the morning of the day she was kidnapped. You looked through your notes and to see he'd sworn over and over that he had nothing to do with it because he loved his mother and had only returned to pick up a pair of shoes he'd forgotten at his home. Supposedly he'd been out of town to attend a friend's wedding, which unfortunately for you, it did add up. As after investigating said friend, it turned out to be true. You weren't dettered however, as many things could have happened between him returning, retrieving his shoes, and leaving. When you and Lin had been there in Cai Won's apartment, it'd been early afternoon after all. Lee on the other hand was silent as usual, only saying that he hadn't done anything. His daughter Fumi had been asked some questions in hopes she might remember something that could give a lead, but she was at school when it had happened. She also seemed very afraid of the notion that her father or uncle could be a "bad person" and would grow too shocked to speak. 

You sighed as you leaned back on the wall behind you, papers were strewn out around you on the floor. _How long have I been here?_ You thought glumly and stood up slowly, your legs aching having been in the same position for so long. You blindly fumbled to your room and fell onto your bed face first, falling asleep more quickly than you'd like to admit. 

The next day at work everything progressed as usual. During training you felt oddly capable, and were able to bend things significantly more smoothly. It still wasn't proper bending, as all you could do was lift rocks and awkwardly throw them - not very far. You once tried to bring up a small and thin wall but failed as making specific shapes was definitely still out of your grasp. 

You sighed as you thought about this morning's training at your desk. It had been roughly two weeks and you'd improved, but it wasn't enough. Your fellow officer Lao came up to your desk and you jumped when he spoke, his voice bringing you back to reality. 

"Zhang, the Chief has requested you. She's in her office." he said, then paused before adding, "Is everything okay?" 

_Is everything ok?_ You mulled to yourself. _I have crossed the line of coworkers with - of all people - my boss, to enter some grey area. Not to mention my bending has improved, but is nowhere near what it was before…_

"Zhang?" Lao's voice spooked you a second time, but this time you managed to restrain your flinch somewhat. You looked up at him, his eyebrows were furrowed. 

"Ah, yes… Sorry. I'll be right with her." you replied with a hesitant smile. Lao sighed and escorted you to her office, he clearly didn't think something was okay with you. Once outside of her office, you felt somewhat anxious, you hadn't been in her office yet. _Yet I've been in her house._ You stifled a nervous chuckle as Lao knocked on the door.

"Come in." 

Lao opened the door, and held it for you to enter. He didn't step in after you however, and you watched him lock eyes with the Chief. Her face was tense and harsh as she gave a terse nod. He closed the door and his footsteps receded as you glanced curiously around. You walked in and pretended you didn't notice how her face softened up as soon as the door shut, said soft eyes followed you as you looked around. Her office was large and plain, a metal desk in the middle with chairs in front. Actually, it seemed almost everything was lined with some sort of metal. _Smart._ You privately giggled and inspected the walls covered with awards and titles, along with a few pictures of what could be friends and family. One picture in particular captured your attention, it was a younger Lin, her hair black and tied back, she was in a uniform. Her head was held high and she had a genuine smile, but her face was determined and confident. In her hand she held her new badge, the one she still wears today, the one that marked her as Chief of police. She was surrounded by other officers, but one man stood out, tall and lanky with an arrow on his head. He was directly next to Lin, and you realized he was somewhat discretely holding her waist with a hand. Your eyes narrowed immediately and you felt a bitter jealousy creep up your spine.

"That was the day I was appointed Chief." Lin said next to you. You turned to look at her, and searched her face, looking for anything pertaining to the man who was holding her in an intimate manner in the picture. Her face was soft and rested like it always was when you two were alone, but this only made your stomach twist. _Did she do this for him too?_

"Liz?" she asked, her hand reached up to pull your lip gently from between your teeth where you had been relentlessly chewing on it. 

"Who is he?" you blurted out. Then you looked away, your face burning. _Did I seriously just ask that?_

"Who is…" Lin sounded confused then looked at the picture, "Oh. The airbender? His name is Tenzin, he was my boyfriend at the time." her voice was matter-of-factly and it made your face visibly cringe. She noticed this and snickered. 

"Are you… jealous, Liz? I thought you said you weren't interested in me." she teased. 

"I never said I wasn't interested, I said I wasn't ready." you replied between clenched teeth, your face was still flushed at being exposed about something so juvenile. Adults aren't supposed to get jealous, you were definitely not the jealous type. _This is an old picture! Her hair hadn't even turned grey yet!_ This only exasperated you further, and Lin chuckled again. She pressed a kiss to your forehead, in between your furrowed eyebrows. Then with a careful hold on your - not scarred - wrist, she guided you to her desk to sit. 

"Anyways, as much as your jealousy amuses me, I assure you he's well in the past. Besides, I didn't bring you here to talk about my past lovers, I have a lead for our case." 

"You found a lead?" you were impressed and deliberately ignored her use of 'lovers' over 'lover'. _I'm not jealous…_

She nodded, leaning back on her desk to stand in front of and facing you while you sat on one of the chairs. 

"It turns out that while Lee and Fumi may have not said much, we discovered that the day before Cai Won was taken, Fumi had gone missing for a couple of hours. The father didn't turn in a report, but their neighbors noticed she was gone and had looked for her all around the neighborhood, one of them tipped me about it."

"Her father didn't report it?" you were confused as to why he'd done nothing. 

"When I confronted Lee about his daughter, he claimed that it was common for her to leave every now and then. He blames it on simple childish rebellion, and that she more than likely just spends time at her friend's houses or at the park." she replied, her face scrunched up in something alike disgust. 

"Well, we know he's not very good father material, but how do you plan on asking Fumi about this when she hardly is willing to answer any questions at all." you asked, you head tilting to the side as the gears in your head turned, already trying to find a strategy to get her to talk. You were good with kids and always managed to make your students talk when they misbehaved. _Wait! That's it!_

"I assumed we would just ask direct-" Lin started but you stood up and walked eagerly towards her. You placed your hands on either side of her, unintentionally caging her in your purposeful moment. She stiffened, confused but you spoke before she could ask what you were doing. 

"I'll talk to her." you said quickly. 

"Oh… Err, how?" she questioned quietly, her jade eyes scanning your body as her breath hitched at your sudden proximity. 

"I used to be a teacher, remember? I worked with kids of all ages. All I have to do is talk to her as if she was my student. I used to… Well, I'd force confessions out of my students when they'd misbehave. I don't think I'll have to get to that point with Fumi though, she seems like a good kid." 

Lin's eyebrows raised in curiosity, but she didn't try to delve into the subject. Rather, she smiled coyly and sat down on the desk behind her. You let out a sharp gasp as she wrapped her legs around your waist, pulling you closer to her. Her arms moved up to your shoulders where she carefully placed them down, and with one hand she traced the skin along your neck. 

"Such a smart little thing aren't you?" she said playfully. You clenched your jaw and your fingers tightened their grip on the desk on either side of her. 

"Shouldn't we…" you paused to stifle a gasp as her finger traced more circles, "Be getting to work?" 

"Hmm… Maybe." she whispered against your ear, sending chills up your spine. "But I think I'd like to take the invitation you've offered by coming into my personal space." 

She leaned in for a kiss that you didn't resist. It started with soft pecks, almost chaste in nature. They turned into more aggressive ones as she began to pull and nibble at your lip. She pressed a long, hard kiss and then swiped her tongue for access. Your lips parted and you didn't hold back your groan as her tongue delved into your mouth. She explored around and your tongue reached out to meet hers. With each lazy swipe her arms and legs became tighter around you. The sloppy wet sounds along with the soft sighs that came from Lin filled your ears and set your skin on fire. You tried to bring up your arms to feel up her legs but she stopped you. 

"No touching, or else I'll have to take off our armor and we'll never leave this room." 

You reluctantly complied and she continued the make out session. Only after what felt like a blissful, yet torturous lifetime, did she finally pull away leaving both of you panting. She sighed with contentment and released her hold on your body. You waited until you caught your breath and then took a step back to allow her to slip off the desk. 

"Well then, let's pay a visit to the orphanage hm?" she said with a small smile, as if nothing had happened and began to walk towards the door. You rolled your eyes and followed her out. _For someone who's constantly saying she's old, she has quite the appetite for… Physical interactions._

Once outside headquarters, you took the brief walk to the orphanage. Well at least you thought it was brief. 

"Don't you know how to drive or something?" she said casually. "Hmm, if there were less people I'd be willing to carry you again, if only to not walk." 

"I'm barely learning to bend again, and shouldn't you know how to drive? The 50 year old who has lived with access to this kind of technology for far longer than I have." you countered, then added for good measure, "Also, I don't plan on letting you carry me any time soon. It was terrifying."

"I do know how to drive, for your information. I prefer metalbending though, it's more efficient and there's no traffic. Also, your sighs against my neck said otherwise." she snickered. 

"Lin!" you gasped in embarrassment and clamped a hand over her mouth. You looked around at the people going about their daily commute. Nobody had turned or hardly even noticed you and Lin, but you couldn't help but feel exposed. She pulled your hand away with a wicked grin and continued walking.

The rest of the walk was thankfully spent in comfortable silence as Lin decided to cease her small talk and teasing. Upon arriving at the orphanage, the receptionist recognized Lin and brought you to a small room where they had been holding Fumi meanwhile the case was sorted out. She was on the floor playing with some toys when you walked in. She locked eyes onto the uniforms, and her face brightened while she set down her toys. 

"Do I finally get to go home?" she asked wide-eyed and hopeful. 

"No. We came to ask some more questions." Lin admitted and leaned on her shoulder against the wall. Her arms folded across her chest and she motioned to you with her head. "This is Officer Zhang, she will be talking to you." 

Fumi's face lowered sadly, but her eyes followed you curiously as you came up to sit down next to her on the floor. You knew how kids worked, and if you had to guess, all officers who'd talked to her so far were probably as brusque and blunt as Lin had just been. You just had to butter her up with kindness.

"Hello there Fumi. Is it alright if I call you Fumi?" you said softly, and she only responded with a nod. "You can call me Adaliz if you like. I just want to ask you something that was concerning me." 

Her face lifted to look at you properly and you smiled kindly to reassure her.

"Some of your neighbors told us that you had gone missing for a couple of hours a few days ago. May I know what had happened?" 

"Missing? I went to play with my friend." she said in a small voice. 

"May I know which friend you went to play with?" you asked and gently tucked a strand of her long, black hair behind her ear. 

"I went to Mei's house. Me, Mei and her dad played." 

"Do you know what Mei's last name is? Why didn't you tell your dad where you went?" 

"I think it's Park, or at least that's what I was told to call him. Dad doesn't like Mr. Park." 

You looked at Lin who nodded, at least you knew where she had been. You turned back to Fumi to continue. 

"Do you know why your dad doesn't like Mr. Park?" 

"He said he was a bad man that used to work for… I think it was… trip triad? Something about three's. What is that?" she looked very curious but you reassured her it was something she should only know to stay away from. Before leaving you asked her one last thing. 

"Is anyone from your family benders? Do you know if Mei and her parents are benders too?" 

She nodded, "Me, my uncle and grandma know how to firebend. I keep my dad safe! That's why I need to go home!" she was frantic suddenly, but you resumed your calm and soothing approach, settling a hand gently on her shoulder. 

"You'll go back home soon, I'm sure of it. Your dad is lucky to have such a brave daughter. As I said, do you know if Mei and her parents are benders?" 

Her lip quivered and she finally managed, "Yes, Mei is a waterbender like her mom, and her dad is an earthbender. Once while we were eating he got scared and bent his metal spoon!" 

"Thank you, Fumi." you said and reached into your pocket to hand her a candy. 

You and Lin took your leave. You rolled your eyes as Lin gave a terse farewell nod to anyone who she saw. 

Once outside, instead of walking back to headquarters, you felt Lin pull you into a nearby alleyway. You stood closely, clearly she wanted to talk privately about what you had learned, and contemplate what to do next. How convenient she was on the same page, you were thinking about doing the same yourself. 

"Great, so he was or currently still is, a gang member from the triple threat triad. Not only that, but he can metalbend." you said with a groan and pinched the bridge of your nose. 

"I say we go visit them today once we investigate where they live. See what we can find out." 

"He's a metalbender! The mom is a waterbender! This could go wrong, Lin." 

"Nothing I can't handle. I'm the best metalbender alive." she said sharply, her chin jutted out in arrogant confidence. 

You rolled your eyes, "I thought your mother was the best metalbender and earthbender alive." 

She scowled, "My mother is old." 

"According to you, you're old." you scoffed

Lin's frown deepened but she didn't reply as she mulled over her thoughts. 

"Very well, we'll return to report our findings, locate an address, and tomorrow we'll set out with another pair of officers to talk with Mr. Park to see what we can find." Lin said, her arms were crossed and her nails drummed against the metal on her arms. _Is she nervous?_

You reached out to rest a hand on hers but hesitated and withdrew your hand. Lin's rapid tapping stopped and her body stiffened a little as she looked at you. 

"I'm going to be fine, Lin. I'll let you and the other officers handle it so you don't worry about me as much, okay?" you said to ease her. You were correct in assuming this was what was bothering her because she relaxed instantly. With a crooked smile, she gingerly rested her hand on your shoulder to nudge you forward. 

"Come on, it's late and the sooner we go back to HQ, the sooner I can take you home." her voice was so affectionate and protective, you weren't sure if you wanted to cry with joy or puke. Maybe both. 

As you turned to start walking you tried to hide your nervousness behind a chuckle, "Oh? You're taking me home again, hm? Is this going to become a habit, Chief?" 

You heard Lin scoff, but she didn't reply. 

Back at the department's building, you stood next to Lin dutifully as she went over the things you'd learned from Fumi. Lao and another officer you didn't know were assigned to go with you and Lin the following day. Another additional officer was charged with finding out the address of the home. After everyone was up to date, the meeting was dismissed, which meant this long day was finally over. 

Outside the night was calm and pleasantly warm, the city lights seemed almost like a golden shower of light on the paved streets below. Few people walked around the calm night, enjoying the pleasurable weather and almost full moon. Your attention was not on the scenery however, as you bickered with Lin. 

"Just hold on to me! I don't want to walk!" she groaned, placing her hands on her hips stubbornly. 

"I told you that I wouldn't do it! Not again! It was terrifying!" you exclaimed, mirroring her stubborn posture, "You don't even have to walk me home. I'll be fine!" 

"If you learn to bend properly again, you're going to have to learn how to do it on your own anyways. So what's the point in being afraid?" Lin was exasperated. The fact that she ignored your point irked you. 

"Don't skip over my point about walking alone! Besides I already told you I won't do it. I wasn't afraid of being in the air, I was afraid of how it had felt to be pressed up against you!" you finally hissed. You cursed under your breath as you saw her stubborn pose falter, then she raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading across her face. _Damn her and that stupid smile! Why would I say that!?_

"Oh my, who knew? Tell me, what did it feel like?" she cooed and took a step towards you. 

You frowned, and desperately tried to think of a way to gain control of the situation but nothing came to mind. Not that you had much time to think as she took a second and third step towards you, effectively closing the gap. She calmly brought a finger up to your chin and raised your head to look up at hers. You refused to let her take the upper hand though, so you swatted her hand away. 

"Why do you have this need to walk me home all of a sudden?" you asked curtly, your lips pulled into a thin line. 

Lin hesitated, her teasing smile gone and her brows furrowed again. She left her arm in the air, as if reluctant to bring it away from you. 

"I'm sorry, I know I've been acting strange towards you…" was all she managed to say as she let out a small sigh of defeat. Somehow this only made you more angry. 

"Strange is an understatement." your voice was clipped and barely containing your frustration with the woman in front of you, "Why do you have such a need to carry me home? All for what? What do you want from me, Lin? You've barely known me for a little over a week!"

Lin shrugged, causing your frown to grow deeper. 

"I just want to keep you safe. You spend so much time inside your head, I want you to feel like you can trust me."

You groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose. This woman is absolutely confusing beyond measure. 

"Just take me home…" you finally said, your voice small, defeated. You wouldn't argue about this further, it was sort of pointless. She means well, it just makes you very confused and irritated. You went up to her and walked behind her to rest your hands on her back, a silent plea for her to crouch so you could jump on. To your relief she complied and once you were securely holding on to her with your arms and legs, she made the jump and began the journey back to your apartment. 

You rested your head on her shoulder, leaning into her neck for support as the force of her movement threatened to pull you away from her. You watched the buildings whip by with mild curiosity and awe, something you weren't able to do the first time around since your face was buried into her and your back faced away. 

Soon enough the street your apartment was on came into view, Lin slowed down in order to descend. Rather than land abruptly like the first time, she landed as gently as possible, probably because she couldn't hold on to you to make sure you didn't fall. You jumped off of her back and stretched as you walked to your door to unlock it, fishing the keys out of your pocket. 

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Liz. That wasn't my intent." 

You sighed and turned to look at Lin, her face was neutral, but her furrowed brows gave away her worry. You accepted her apology with a small nod, "It's okay Lin. Trust comes with time, not with teasing and hugs." 

She smiled crookedly, "I understand." 

You opened your door and stopped before closing it behind you to look at Lin again. You sighed again, "I know you meant well, see you tomorrow." 

"Good night." was all she replied as you closed and locked your door from the inside. What a day. 

The next day you showed up to work, had a coworker tighten your armor as usual before you did some quick paperwork at your desk. When finished, muscle memory walked you to the training room. When you opened the door Lin wasn't there to your faint surprise, so you decided to begin warming up on your own. 

You removed your armor and began with some stretches. 

You let out a long breath as you were finishing your stretches, you bent your torso down to touch your toes. Suddenly, a small sting was felt on your left butt cheek that made you yelp and shoot upwards. You barely heard the small stone clatter to the floor as you whipped around to confront whoever threw it. Your eyes met green ones as Lin calmly and neutrally walked into the sparring room. 

"Why did you do that?" your voice was almost a snarl in your annoyance.

"Do what?" was the uninterested reply. 

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously and watched Lin as she began to remove her armor to train. She wore an expressionless face and when she looked away you took your chance. 

With a sharp and satisfying wack, the small pebble you threw at Lin's rear hit its target dead center. You hid your grin as Lin flinched, her eyes widened momentarily in her startle, but just as quickly she whipped around to face you. 

"Is that how it's going to be, officer?" she growled, "Well if you're feeling this spicy with your earthbending, I'm sure you wouldn't mind a friendly spar." 

You paled and stuttered to find a response, "A spar?! But- I am still nowhere near being combat ready with my bending yet!" 

Lin simply rolled her neck and stretched her shoulders, her bones cracking so loudly you winced. Then she walked a bit away from you and settled into a stance. 

"You're an officer who's job is to defend the public, now toughen up Zhang, otherwise you'll never improve." then, her eyes darkened slightly as she added, "And you can be assured that you will pay for your petty joke." 

You gulped nervously and the moment you stood shakily in a fighting stance, Lin kicked out in a low sweep. The floor rolled out like a wave, knocking you out with it, and you landed on your back with a heavy thud. Dazed, your fighting instincts kicked in and took over, your body immediately rolling back up and on your feet. To make up for your lack of bending, you closed the space between you and Lin quickly and threw a couple of small rocks at her from both directions. As you expected she brought up her arms in a defensive stance, the rocks shattering around her shoulders. You tried to close in on the opening and knock her off her feet, but she was faster, bending the floor at her feet to bring up a wall and slid it towards you.

You tried to side step, the wall hitting your shoulder as you moved and tried to bend the floor at Lin's feet to hold her in place. She easily broke your bonds and threw a large stone at you, which connected to your stomach before you could dodge, sending you flying back. You wheezed and got up as quickly as you could. _I'm going to have one hell of a sore body tomorrow._

The spar continued, Lin relentlessly knocking you off your feet again and again. You hadn't managed to get her on the floor a single time. 

Finally, when you couldn't find the strength to get up anymore, she came to sit down next to your limp body. She chuckled, which made you groan in anger and frustration. _Not even once! Damn it, if only I could bend normally, I would've wiped that smirk off her stupid, pretty face._

A like poke to your sore side made you jump. "Ow! Lin!" you whined and tried to drag yourself away from her, causing her to let out a bark of laughter. 

"Oh lighten up, you'll be fine. I hardly even touched you."

At that, your anger drove you to roll over onto your stomach, propped up on your elbows and look at her with a deep scowl. Lin raised her eyebrows, unimpressed with your display as she looked down at you. 

When you found the strength to get up and barrel into her, she let out a grunt of surprise as you pinned her down on her back. You held her arms to her sides, then settled them under your legs so you could sit your full weight down on her stomach, effectively straddling her and holding her in place. She frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but before any words had left her mouth you reached down and flicked her in the forehead. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" she grumbled, confused and surprised. Her eyes widened as you flicked her again, this time on the cheek. She stared up at you in disbelief and utterly perplexed that anyone would have the guts to pin down the Chief of police in a public place, just to flick her in the face, twice. 

Content you had left her speechless, you rolled off of Lin and collapsed on the floor next to her. You both lay on your backs in silence, staring at the ceiling. You saw her turn her head in the corner of your eye, her lips parting as she prepared to say something, only to be interrupted by someone walking into the gym. 

"Chief." he said promptly, waiting for her to sit up and acknowledge him before he continued, "Hun and I are good to go whenever you and Zhang are ready." 

Lin had already adopted her normal blank and hard face, she nodded at the officer by the door. "Good to know Poe. You and Hun wait by my office, Zhang and I will join you shortly." 

The officer, who you now learned was Poe, said a quick affirmation before leaving. 

Lin grumbled something incoherent under her breath, but it sounded rather grumpy. Then with a sigh she turned to you, where you were still laying limp on the floor. A small smile graced her features as she patted your shoulder softly. 

"Come on, let's go get cleaned up." 

“Wasn’t Lao going with us?” you asked, causing Lin who was a couple of steps ahead to shrug.

“Lao had to deal with another case, Poe will take his place instead.”

You followed behind Lin as you arrived by her office, Poe and Hun hanging about and talking about the latest pro-bending match. She nodded at them, and they immediately stood straight and attentive. While the four of you made way to the entrance of the building, you inspected both new officers. Well, they’re strangers to me. You had already learned from Lao that he was a metalbender, but then his armor also gave him away. Both of these officers wore regular uniforms, however it was likely Lin would not want just anyone coming along. When Hun turned his head slightly while you all got into the police cruiser, you noticed his long hair was tied back with a red ribbon, so he was likely a firebender. Poe on the other hand, didn’t have anything noticeable to identify him.

As you sat in the back of the cruiser with Poe, you watched Lin from the corner of your eye as she skillfully pulled the car out of its parking space and onto the road. For a woman who hates making “friends” she seemed to get along well enough with Hun as they talked in the front.

“Say Chief, did ya watch the most recent game?” Hun asked her.

“No, I don’t bother with such things.” was her brusque reply.

“Oh c’mon Chief, I thought you’d be all chummy and support Korra. Isn’t she Tenzin’s student?”

At the mention of Tenzin, you paid more attention. _Does Lin still talk to her ex?_ The thought made your stomach clench in discomfort.

“What Tenzin and his little **student** do is not my problem. As long as that brat stays out of trouble.”

Hun and Poe both snickered. _Who is Korra? She must have done something really bad to tick Lin off this way._

“D'aww don’t be too hard on the kid Chief, she’s just 17. Besides, her heart is in the right place.” Hun said.

“She’s only been around for a couple of weeks, you never know how useful the kid could be later on. The avatar just needs some practice!” Poe piped in from the back, leaning forward to listen better.

At this your ears twitched. _Korra is the avatar’s name I see. She’s 17? That’s incredible, she’s not too much younger than me. How could Lin hate the avatar so much?_

“She destroyed more property in a couple minutes than the entire police force in a week!” Lin bristled.

_Ah, there it is._

Poe and Hun laughed again, much to Lin’s irritation but nothing more was said about the topic. The building came into view, and everyone prepared themselves. It appeared to be a nice, small house in a decent enough of a neighborhood. Lin pulled the cruiser to a stop across the street, where everyone stepped out. She motioned at Hun to stay outside to keep watch, meanwhile the rest of you went to the door to knock. 

After Lin’s third sharp knock, the door opened to reveal a woman who was somewhere in her 40’s, dressed in a blue tunic and white pants. She smiled amicably, but was clearly offset to see a group of officers show up at her door.

“How may I help you?” she asked kindly.

“We would like to have a word with Mr. Park, is that okay?” Lin asked politely enough, but her posture was as harsh as usual.

Mrs. Park, you presumed, nodded and opened the door more so you could all step in. Poe closed the door behind everyone as Mrs. Park poked her head through a separate room to call her husband over. You stood between Lin and Poe as a man in his 50’s stepped out, dressed in a white tank top, and dark green pants. He quickly assessed the situation, becoming rigid at the presence of officers.

“Good afternoon.” he said briskly, he was clearly very uncomfortable, “My daughter gets home from school in a couple of hours, will this take long?”

“No, it won’t. We simply came by to ask a couple of questions.” Lin said.

Mr. Park nodded, then motioned to a table with chairs. Poe and Lin took a seat, but you preferred to stand behind a bit, near the door. Mrs. Park nodded politely and stepped into a room off the side, seemingly eager to leave the conversation to her husband.

“I am sure you know your daughter’s friend, Fumi, right?”

“Yes, she’s that small firebender with long, black hair. What about her? Has something happened to her?” Mr. Park seemed concerned about Fumi. _That makes sense, from what Fumi had said, they would all play together, he must be close to the kid._

“Fumi is fine.” Lin assured him, “However a close family member of hers has gone missing for about a week now, and we simply want to make sure we check every possible source for clues.”

“A week?” Park sounded confused, “Isn’t the likelihood of finding a missing person alive after a week low?”

“Well yes, it is.” Lin said, “However we have reason to believe our missing person is still alive.”

_She’s referring to the family’s wealth? The money is controlled by the grandmother, so her death would be useless, the money would simply be split in between her remaining three family members, which would just make it harder to take. That makes sense, I hadn’t thought of that._ You mulled to yourself, trying to piece together Lin’s view on the situation. Lin was smarter than she let on, you admittedly just assumed Cai Won would be dead by now. This made you feel a bit guilty, but then it was no wonder you really weren’t cut out to be a cop, you were a murderer. Your hand idly traced where your scars would be under your armor.

You snapped back into focus at the sound of Mrs. Park stepping into the room. You weren’t really sure what had been exchanged up to now, but the hostile atmosphere made you wince.

“How did you know who I was talking about?” Lin questioned, her hands firmly gripped the edge of the table.

“It was just a coincidence, she’s close to my daughter, of course we know about her family.” Park replied between clenched teeth.

“I never said which family member was missing, did I? The police haven't made an official release to the press about it yet either.” Lin said slowly. Poe next to her was tense and ready to burst.

Like a balloon pop, the room exploded into action.

Mr. Park melded a rudimentary blade from a spoon that was on the table, trying to slash across at Poe who didn’t have armor. Lin quickly intercepted by flipping the table and kicked it at Mr. Park. He was sent backwards with the table, colliding into the far wall. His wife stepped in, taking water from a bottle in the corner, and made it into a lash, whipping out at Lin. Poe procured a bottle from inside his jacket, using a water whip of his own to cover Lin. 

Poe and Mrs. Park faced each other, water splashed back and forth in the small living room and kitchen, meanwhile next to them Mr. Park had stood up and now faced Lin in a brutal fight of their own. Unsure of how to help without proper bending, you kicked the front door down to signal to Hun outside that a fight had broken out. He swiftly started to cross the street to join you, but was intercepted by a neighbor, who threw a large flame at him. You whipped around to see the firebender who’d stepped in, and quickly threw a couple of choice rocks at him, aiming towards his knees. From the other side Hun kept him busy throwing his own fire until you landed a hit to his left knee with a loud crunch, causing him to stumble long enough for you to bend a stone enclosure around him.

“They know why we are here, call for backup!” you yelled at Hun who scrambled back to the cruiser to radio the station. More people came out from the house next door, a waterbender and another firebender. The waterbender ran after Hun, meanwhile you and the second firebender circled together, a couple of feet across each other. Fire and stones were exchanged until a ball of fire crashed into the side of the firebender, you turned just in time to make brief eye contact with Hun who’d already managed the water bender. _Hun is a pretty good bender, I'll keep that in mind._ Without wasting time you formed a wall around the distracted firebender, leaving all three benders under control. Just as more people began showing up, a second police cruiser pulled up, four more officers running out to stop them. Hun ran to help, meanwhile you went into the house to check in on Poe and Lin. You gasped in alarm as your eyes locked on to Poe who was under a pile of rubble by the living room, and rushed to look for Lin, finding her in the room next over fighting off both Mr. and Mrs. Park. She looked exhausted, and a wound on her temple was bleeding, the blood dripped down into her left eye, further inhibiting her.

Just as you were about to step in to help, Mr. Park landed a nasty hit on the same wound she had on her head. Lin grunted and stumbled to the ground, then was slammed down by Mrs. Park who crashed a large ice chunk over the back of her head. The ice shattered around her, and Lin didn’t move again from her spot on the floor.

Both Parks locked eyes onto you, preparing themselves to fight you next. You felt like you were going to scream, anger broiled in your veins, hot and bubbling like a seething creature fighting for release. You did not contain your fury.

An assortment of stones and metal items floated around you as you snarled, and threw yourself across the room, slamming into Mr. Park. He yelped as the wind escaped his lungs from the force of the blow, and you didn’t let up, forming metal gloves around your hands, you pummeled into him. After your second hit, you were knocked off by water, and turned to Mrs. Park, launching her into the opposite wall with a heavy chunk of stone. You used some rock to encase her hands and feet to the wall, then for good measure slapped more rock around her neck. Enough to restrict her breathing, but she wouldn’t suffocate.

You turned back to Mr. Park who had gotten back up, your face contorted in anger as you deflected his blows. You felt alive as you hurled rock after rock at the man, until one connected with his jaw with a sickening crunch, sending him crumbling to the floor.

As soon as both Parks had been contained, you forgot about them instantly. Your earlier grief returned as you frantically ran to Lin who was still out cold on the floor. Gingerly, you rolled her over to look at her head wound better. It wasn’t very deep but it had bled a lot, her face looked paler than usual and her skin felt cool to the touch. You carefully placed your hands under her and lifted her up, bridal style. Her head lolled to the side, cradling itself into your neck. Normally this would have made you happy, but now you only felt sick as you felt her blood smear onto your jaw, and drip down your armor. As you walked out with Lin securely in your arms, Hun had stepped in with another officer, you motioned to Poe who was on the floor and they quickly got to work getting him up.

Lin, being much bigger than you was rather heavy and difficult to carry, but you ignored this as you hauled her body outside. You ignored the other officers who were detaining the criminals outside, and stepped into a third cruiser, a large truck. It must have arrived later, and was ready to carry the injured out, a couple of people were already in there, but the cruiser didn’t pull out until Hun showed up with Poe over his shoulders. 

The rumbling of the truck speeding down the road was barely registered by your mind. The world numbed around you as you held on to Lin, your head leaning into hers as you focused onto her weak breathing. You held on to her like a lifeline, and you didn’t ever want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed a lot of you ask /constantly/ when new updates will happen. But I don't really have any social media accounts to keep you all updated on sooooo  
> I made a discord server, just for you all. 
> 
> The discord is new and kinda bleh, but I hope it'll at least somewhat work LOL
> 
> v The link v  
> https://discord.gg/39BxGR6

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review! It really helps me improve and motivates me to keep going (:


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